


Snowflakes and Sweet Cakes

by ttacticianmagician



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Dedue Rarepair Weekend, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Get a woman that can inhale a cake in minutes, Hurt/Comfort, Other characters mentioned - Freeform, Racism/Xenophobia, Sad Ending, Terminal Illnesses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:55:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27583028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ttacticianmagician/pseuds/ttacticianmagician
Summary: “What do you think Lysithea does with all the cakes she buys?” Ashe asked as he wiped down the counters. The door between the front and the kitchen was flung wide open, allowing everyone to partake in an idle conversation.“That’s a good question.” Mercedes replied back. She was in the middle of counting their stock. “She comes in so frequently, and buys so much each time, I can’t help but think she’s getting them for someone. There’s no way a skinny girl like her can put all that away by herself!”“Oh, no. She is actually just buying them for herself.” Annette piped up without tearing her eyes off her phone.That casual remark drew all pairs of eyes onto her. Even Dedue, who was putting the finishing touches on a custom cake, couldn’t help but look up.“And how do you know this?” He inquired tentatively. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the answer.Dedue Molinaro runs a humble bakery. Lysithea V. Ordelia is a wealthy student at Garreg Mach University. The two don't have much in common besides a fondness for cakes, but it's enough to bring them together. Unfortunately, young love takes time to bloom, while tragedy can strike in an instant.
Relationships: Dedue Molinaro/Lysithea von Ordelia
Comments: 6
Kudos: 8





	Snowflakes and Sweet Cakes

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a short thing for Dedue Rarepair Weekend but typical me came up with too many ideas for this story. So now it's a multi-chapter fic. It should only have 6-8 chapters, and I should be done writing it by the end of this week, but I wanted to start posting this today so it'll actually be posted on the weekend I specifically wrote it for.
> 
> I based Duscur off of Russia and other Slavic countries! Granted, I only did a cursory Google search to come up with the desserts mentioned in this fic, so if you know more about this than me, I'd love to hear it!
> 
> Please heed the warnings! Especially the major character death, terminal illness, and racism/xenophobia tags. More tags may be added to the story itself or on a chapter-by-chapter basis. It won't be all doom and gloom but if you know Lysithea, you know that the future doesn't look very bright for her...

At first, Dedue didn't think much of the woman who walked into his bakery.

She was a slender woman, even smaller than Annette, with hair the color of fresh snow and eyes the color of cotton candy. Her hefty backpack full of books, some of which flowed over and into her arms, indicated that she was a student of some sort. Perhaps she was enrolled in the nearby Garreg Mach university. She certainly had the money to go there as hinted by her expensive-looking clothes, a slick blazer and skirt without a single crease. Considering his other, more motley customers, she had an unusual appearance, but that alone wasn't a reason to single her out. A man of Duscur such as himself should know that better than anyone.

The pale woman paused at the sight of Dedue. It was a tame reaction, but it was enough to make him sigh inwardly. He normally worked in the kitchen towards the back of the bakery, where his large frame, Duscur features, and almost-permanent frown wouldn’t scare away potential customers. But Annette, his usual receptionist, wasn’t in today, and his other two employees, Ashe and Mercedes, already spent a lot of time in front. So Dedue placed himself behind the cash register just this once, out of fairness. 

He was so unused to the customer service part of his job, he almost forgot his manners. Dedue tried his best to relax so he wouldn’t look so stiff and unfriendly. “Welcome to Sara’s Bakery. How can I help you?”

The woman didn’t answer him. She instead strolled over to the display right next to Dedue. His small shop sold a wide variety of baked goods, from cookies to cupcakes to bread to pies, but in his humble opinion, the most eye-catching products here were the cakes. The colorful assortment of frosted desserts sat in a refrigerated case, brightly illuminated like the celebrities. And the metaphor was quite apt. Dedue’s cakes sold at a much faster pace than the other items, leading Mercedes to joke that he should rename his bakery to ‘Sara’s Cake Shop’.

So it didn’t surprise him that the cakes were the first thing she looked at. The woman brought her face so close to the glass, her breath fogged it up. Dedue spotted a hungry glimmer in her eyes that was usually seen in young children, which made him wonder how old she was, exactly. She looked so young, yet she held herself like a professional. Except when she was mentally drooling over cakes, apparently.

Dedue also wondered if he needed to say anything else. She must have heard him the first time. With each passing moment, the awkward silence became more unbearable, until the woman jabbed a finger towards a chocolate cake. Said cake was not only coated in a rich chocolate frosting, it was also topped with chocolate chips, chocolate shavings, chocolate clusters, hot fudge syrup… The ‘Death by Chocolate’ cake was not a cake for the faint of heart.

“That one, please.” The woman announced.

Dedue nodded once, then opened the case door to pull the chosen cake out. He brought it to a back counter covered in various supplies. There wasn’t anything too fancy. The cardboard box he used was plain white and lacked any special logo. The twine string he tied the box with was just that. As he reached for a pair of scissors, his hands brushed against a ceramic figurine of a woman hidden in a corner. He paid it no mind.

A rapid tapping sound could be heard behind him. When Dedue brought the boxed cake to the cash register, he saw that the tapping came from the woman’s credit card. He had no idea if she was drumming it against the counter because she was bored or impatient. Although if he had to hazard a guess, the subtle frown on her face suggested that she was impatient. 

As soon as he told her the price, she jammed her card into the card reader. Dedue briefly caught a glimpse of her name on it, Lysithea V. Ordelia. Once Lysithea paid, she tucked her card back into her wallet and grabbed the cake box in one fluid motion. The woman only spared Dedue a single upward glance to say, “Thank you.” Then she was out the door. 

The exchange happened so quickly, Dedue was inclined to think he just imagined it. But there was a conspicuous empty spot in the cake display that proved him wrong. And then, not long after Lysithea left, a mother and her young son entered. Their appearance chased further thoughts of the pale woman out of Dedue’s head and allowed him to throw himself back into his work.

* * *

That fateful day wasn’t the only time Lysithea visited the bakery. In fact, after her first purchase, she started frequenting the store at least once a week, sometimes twice. On top of that, she continued to drop by for the next several weeks.

Dedue was of course grateful for her business, but also confused. Sara’s Bakery may be close to Garreg Mach University, but it wasn’t close enough to warrant so many visits. There were other nearby bakeries that could cater to wealthy college students better. And even though his menu was just as good as theirs, the decor left much to be desired. The musty brown floor was littered with cracks and marks he couldn’t scrub out, the yellowing overhead lights flickered once in a while, and there was barely enough room for a single wooden table and a pair of chairs. The only reason why his store didn’t look like a dumpy hole-in-the-wall was because the many racks, shelves, and cases of baked goods tended to draw the eye more. Ashe liked to say that a bakery should focus more on its products than its interior design, but Dedue still couldn’t help but feel inadequate.

Regardless of the state of his bakery, Lysithea always bought an entire cake every time she dropped by. From ‘Death by Chocolate’ to ‘Vanilla Heaven’ to ‘Sweet Apple O’ Mine’ to ‘Nuts About Almonds’ and beyond, she never purchased the same flavor twice. That meant that she eventually started picking more unusual cakes during later visits, like ‘Southern Fruit Frenzy’ and ‘Crescent Moon Matcha’. She also occasionally bought other desserts too, but it seemed like the cake of the day was her main priority.

Her behavior in the store, on the other hand, never changed. She didn’t waste her breath on small talk. Whenever she did have to talk, she was always to the point. She had her credit card on hand even before she ordered, and rapped it on any available surface while waiting for her cake. Sometimes, her insistent knocking would be accompanied by fidgeting feet. Dedue wasn’t always her cashier, but these telltale sounds, combined with her shrill voice and the absence of a cake afterwards, let him know that Lysithea was here once again. 

It was obvious that she was a woman with places to be. Dedue didn’t mind that at all. In fact, he could respect someone who kept a tight schedule. However, he found himself wondering curious about the reason behind her impatience. Was Lysithea rushing to bring these cakes someplace? Or did she always act so efficiently? Or maybe she didn’t want to stay with a man of Duscur for very long? Dedue didn’t actually get that kind of feeling from her, but he garnered worse reactions from women like her, so he couldn’t expect much anymore.

And then there was the question of why she bought so many cakes in the first place. Her repeated purchases ended up starting a few rumors in the kitchen. Rumors that Annette could have apparently quashed, but she instead chose to fan the flames.

“What do you think Lysithea does with all the cakes she buys?” Ashe asked as he wiped down the counters. The door between the front and the kitchen was flung wide open, allowing everyone to partake in an idle conversation.

“That’s a good question.” Mercedes replied back. She was in the middle of counting their stock. “She comes in so frequently, and buys so much each time, I can’t help but think she’s getting them for someone. There’s no way a skinny girl like her can put all that away by herself!”

“Oh, no. She is actually just buying them for herself.” Annette piped up without tearing her eyes off her phone.

That casual remark drew all pairs of eyes onto her. Even Dedue, who was putting the finishing touches on a custom cake, couldn’t help but look up.

“And how do you know this?” He inquired tentatively. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the answer.

“Lysithea also goes to Garreg Mach U. No idea what she does there, but it’s hard to mistake her for anyone else. Anyway, one time, I saw her on campus with a cake she must’ve recently bought. I thought she was going to give it someone like you guys thought, but then she just… sat down at a faraway bench and started stuffing her face. The cake was gone so quickly, I could hardly believe it! What I would do to have a metabolism like hers!”

“Wait, so she eats every single cake she buys?!” Ashe’s eyes bulged at the revelation. 

“Yeah! That’s crazy, right? I wish I took a vid, but she already looked so self-conscious, I didn’t want to make things worse if it goes viral or something.” Despite her cheeriness, there was a slight frown on Annette’s face.

“How considerate of you.” Mercedes smiled. Dedue wasn’t sure if such a basic act of respect deserved to be singled out, but he ultimately let it slide, if only because he spotted a familiar shade of white outside the window.

“You better wrap up your gossip, because she’s back for another round.” He announced to everyone.

His words caused quite a stir. Annette quickly straightened herself up and directed her eyes towards the door. Mercedes retreated further into the kitchen so she wouldn’t be seen. Ashe threw away his dirty cleaning rag. And Dedue… acted completely normal. He still had a cake to finish, after all.

The doorbell chimed when Lysithea entered the cozy shop. It was a good thing Dedue warned everyone when he did, because she made a beeline straight to the cake display and the cash register in the back.

“Nice to see you again, Lysithea!” Annette greeted cheerily. “What can I get you this time?”

For once, the pale woman didn’t respond right away. She was apparently taking her sweet time in examining today’s selection. Which was odd, because she normally had an idea of what she wanted as soon as she stepped through the door. When Dedue didn’t hear her shrill voice for several seconds, he glanced up from his work to watch whatever unfolded in the front.

“Don’t you have anything else for sale?” Lysithea finally said after a few minutes of examination. “I’ve seen all these cakes before.”

“O-oh. You have? That’s surprising! We boast one of the widest assortment of cakes in the city, after all.” Annette glanced backwards and met Dedue’s curious gaze. Although she tried not to show it in her body language, her eyes silently pleaded for his help.

Dedue suppressed a sigh as he made his way over. As he predicted, his enormous silhouette attracted Lysithea’s gaze. “Can I help you?” He asked in the gentlest voice possible.

Surprisingly, she wasn’t cowed by him. If anything, his stature made her bolder. Lysithea puffed out her chest as she spoke. “Yes. I’m afraid that I’ve exhausted your selection, so I was wondering if I could order something off the menu. Something like…”

Her eyes slid off of Dedue and into the kitchen. Or to be more precise, to the cake Dedue was assembling in the back. Dedue didn’t realize that it caught her attention until she nodded and pointed towards it.

“That. That looks good, and wholly unlike anything I ate- I mean, bought.”

Dedue overlooked her slip of tongue to steal a glance backwards. His cake wasn’t just custom-made. It was also Duscurian in origin. Few chefs could create a  _ kievsky _ , or a layered meringue and hazelnut cake, which gave Sara’s Bakery an edge over the competition. But at the same time, Dedue didn’t broadcast his abilities too publicly. He only made it known to the local Duscurians, also known as the only people who would want Duscurian desserts. 

So he was honestly a bit startled to hear a Fodlanese woman coveting it. It wasn’t as if Duscurian and Fodlanese palates were incompatible, although he wouldn’t be surprised if there were some differences. The main reason why Dedue didn’t want to advertise these cakes out in the open was because there was some stigma around his people. Things had gotten better throughout the past several years, but he didn’t want to endanger his fragile business with items that the average customers wouldn’t want anyway. 

Except, judging from her eager glances towards the back, Lysithea wasn’t the average customer. He took a deep breath before he spoke. “I’m sorry, but this kind of cake can only be made through custom orders. It already has someone waiting for it. But if you’re interested, I can make another one for you, on a later date.”

“Oh?” Lysithea perked up. “So can I have one made for the next time I come in? That’ll be…”

She glanced down at her phone for a quick second. “This Thursday, at 2:50 PM.”

Dedue once again was in awe by how precise she was, but hid his amazement under a placid expression. “The timing is acceptable. However, are you familiar with what you’re ordering?”

“No. Should I be?” Lysithea replied without missing a beat.

“This is a  _ kievsky _ , a Duscurian sponge cake with layers of meringue, hazelnut, and buttercream. I can also add fruit jam and chocolate as layers, and fresh fruit and nuts as toppings. Depending on what you want, the price will range from…”

No matter what Dedue told Lysithea, from the cake’s not-so-insignificant price to its Duscurian origins, she wasn’t deterred. She kept an unflinching gaze throughout his explanation, and even started tapping her credit card on the counter towards the end of it. 

“Cake is cake.” She announced. “I don’t care where it comes from. I still want to go through with my order.”

“Of course.” Dedue nodded, even though her blaise statement irked him. Cake was cake? That was the opinion of someone who never faced any hardships because of her own motherland. Someone who didn’t know how something as innocent as a cake could paint a target on her back.

Dedue still took her order down anyway. He usually received custom orders for Duscurian cakes online, so he didn’t have a special form for it in person. He had to write down everything Lysithea wanted, plus her contact info, on a blank sheet of paper. In addition, she wanted to buy a ‘Honeyed Fruit Jubilee’ cake to tide over the next few days. Dedue proceeded to package it while Annette rang up Lysithea’s purchase.

Maybe he should have tried harder and outright denied her request, but Dedue didn’t want to scare off a customer as loyal as her. He didn’t want her to buy  _ nothing _ , he just didn’t want her to buy ‘off the menu’ and then get upset when it wasn’t to her liking. Still, as Lysithea ambled out of the shop with a slight skip in her step, he started to wonder if he was maybe overreacting instead. It was just one cake. He could indulge her just this once, then she’ll go back to her normal routine with no harm done.

“You know, that was probably the smoothest way to get a girl’s number.” Annette said once Lysithea was gone. She smiled as she placed a finger on the aforementioned string of numbers. 

“It doesn’t mean anything.” Dedue grumbled. “Especially since she doesn’t have mine. Only the bakery’s.”

“Well, baby steps.” Annette shrugged, her impish grin sapping his will to argue back. He instead sighed and headed back into the kitchen. 


End file.
